This blog is all about my little seed farm in Victoria, Australia. Follow my progress as I grow and sell rare, unusual and heritage vegetable seed for local seed companies.
I have nearly ten acres now of urban farm, using empty house blocks as well as a small rural block. Check in often to see what I am up to.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Pepinos and spotty pumpkin leaves

The strange spring continues; more cool and showery days almost - almost- making me look forward to a bit more sun. At least this weather has everything growing wonderfully. I am going to have a good lot of produce for the market in Hamilton on Saturday.

I accidently left one of my overwintered pepinos in the polyhouse where it grew into the soil of one of the raised beds. I think I will grow them in there every year now as it is doing so well.
Usually I don't get any fruits forming till autumn but this plant has loved the extra heat and is forming a heap of fruit already.
I am looking forward to some summer pepinos.

Because they tend to be very variable in taste even if you pick two fruits the same ripeness from the same bush they will often not taste the same, I prefer them stewed or put into pies. But I have to admit that a good pepino is very delicious. Maybe having them in the raised beds might keep the pests out of them as well.

One of the pumpkins that I grew from seed from my neighbours has this spotting on the leaves. At first I thought it is a virus but the plant is healthy and just as strong as the rest, and it doesn't look like virus infected leaves that I found on Google, so I think it is either a bacterial infection or a genetic sort of spotting (a bit like moon and stars watermelon). The younger leaves have more spotting but all the leaves have at least some spots. None of the other cucurbits have any sign of spotting.

As long as the plant grows well and it seems to do no harm I will keep it for the novelty value and for my interest.
I have no idea what these pumpkins look like or how they taste, time will tell.

In other news I had a visitor today that took many of the plants that I was worrying about planting or throwing out so that was a blessing. I hate cleaning out perfectly good plants just because I have no room for them. I suppose that if I tried I could pop them in here and there, I find that they just get missed with the watering when I do that.

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About Me

I live in Victoria, Australia. I used to travel with my pack donkeys and live in the Australian bush but now that I am settled in a small town I am working for myself growing unusual fruits and vegetables.
I have started a small market garden to sell fresh heirloom fruit and veg at the local markets.